Get lean, strong & healthy in less time
By Scott Fenwick
B.S. /Hons
I hope all of you have followed my programme last week and are making your new year's resolutions happen! This article will give you quick facts and mistakes that are generally stopping people from gaining their goals. I have broken the article down into 6 sections and this will help you more to get the body of your dreams!
Doing isolated exercises
Doing isolated exercises like bicep curls and triceps kick-backs will not get you any significant results. These "one muscle at a time" moves simply do not stimulate enough muscle fibers to build lean muscle or expend enough energy to maximize your calorie burn.
If you want to build lean muscle while burning fat so you can get serious definition, you need to perform exercises that stimulate as many muscles and expend as much energy as possible at the same time. Using these types of exercises will dramatically accelerate your results.
Working out with machines
Truthfully, if we want the body of our dreams we must focus on functional movements and make use of a wide variety of machines! Some machines can alter the way your body naturally moves and restrict your range of motion. A fully qualified Instructor, European Registered Exercise Professional EREPS (as found in The Club Port Baku) will ensure you make the best use of a wide variety of Precor strength equipment. Training without an instructor's plan may severely limit your ability to fully activate all of your muscle fibers, which leads to less fat burning and less muscle definition.
If you want fast results, it's critical that you incorporate exercises that allow your body to move naturally with full range of motion so you can enhance your metabolism and tone your entire physique.
Doing long bouts of cardio
Look, you need to do cardio if you want to lose weight and burn fat...but there is a right way and a wrong way to do your cardio workouts. If you've been pounding the pavement or the treadmill with nothing to show for it (except sore joints), you already know it takes a lot of effort to get minimal results. The best way is interval training using the PRECOR treadmill or AMT (Advanced Motion Trainer - Perfect for those with weak knees) which I discussed in my first article to either increase the incline or increase the speed. The ratio can be from 1 minute sprint to 1 minute walking as an example.
Doing crunches and sit-ups to get 6-pack abs
If you want the desired flat stomach, doing traditional stomach exercises like crunches and sit-ups WILL NOT get you the desired flat stomach. In fact, doing any exercises that target your stomach will not get you a six pack either! These so-called exercises are a complete waste of time. They do not make your stomach get any more defined and they definitely do not burn any fat.
The key to getting sculpted stomach muscles is to burn off that stubborn layer of fat that's hiding them!
Repeating the same workout routines over and over
Repeating the same workouts over and over is a surefire way to STOP getting results. We are creatures of habit and we tend to stick to things we are familiar with and good at. But when it comes to your workouts, if you want to keep making progress and keep seeing changes in your body, you've got to start changing things and adding variety.
Your body has an amazing ability to adapt quickly and when it does, that's when you hit the dreaded plateau and you stop making progress. Your workout routine has to change every 6 weeks, whether that would be to increase weight, speed, different exercise altogether so you can keep your body guessing to accelerate the results-attaining process.
Doing long workouts
Longer workouts do not equal better or faster results. If you have been slaving away at the gym and your body is not visibly changing, you can't do more of the same thing and expect a different result.
When it comes to getting lean and fit, your body responds to quality over quantity. Technique and timing is very important to the successful lean, strong and healthy body.
Make it happen!